Latest news with #ImageSearch
Android Authority
11-06-2025
- Android Authority
Apple's Circle to Search competitor for iOS 26 looks awful
Earlier this week, during the WWDC keynote, Apple showed off its new iOS 26. For the first time since iOS 7 in 2013, Apple is revamping the operating system's look and feel, introducing a very Windows Aero-esque design language called 'Liquid Glass' (RIP Windows Vista), and since this was the flashy new thing at the keynote, it's been the week's hot topic. However, we also saw teasers of other new features that aren't getting the same level of attention. Within the segment on iOS, for example, Billy Sorrentino showed off a new capability of Apple's AI-powered Visual Intelligence, which is called, pretty simply, Image Search. The way it works is that you take a screenshot of anything you see on your iPhone's screen. Once you have the screenshot, you can hit the Image Search button in the lower right. Using AI, Visual Intelligence will scan the screenshot and search for things it sees or create calendar events for dates and times revealed in the image. If this sounds familiar, it's because Google's Circle to Search does the exact same thing and has been available for over a year now. However, I'm not bringing this up to do the usual 'LOL, Apple stealing from Android!' reaction. I'm bringing it up because, based on what we saw in the video, Image Search within iOS 26 seems uncharacteristically bad. Visual Intelligence in iOS 26: Circle to Search, but bad During the keynote (starts at 38:27 in the video embedded at the top), Sorrentino makes Image Search seem so easy and powerful. In his first demo, he pulls up a social media feed. There are multiple posts that are only text, and then one image. He takes a screenshot, initiates Image Search, and tells us, the audience, that he's interested in the jacket the model is wearing in the social media post. Apple's own demo on this Circle to Search-esque feature was plagued with bad answers and a poor UI. Image Search does its thing and pulls up a collection of images that share similarities with the social media post. Note that it doesn't search for the jacket. The software doesn't even know that Sorrentino is interested in the jacket because he never indicated that. All the software does is find images that look similar to the one in his screenshot, and Sorrentino acts like this is a marvel. Sir, I've been using TinEye to do that since 2008. Also, note that Image Search ignored everything else going on in the screenshot. It didn't search for the Emoji that appears in one of the posts, nor did it search for anything related to the numerous avatar images. Somehow it knew to only search through that one image, which seems like something that won't ever happen in real life. In the next demo, Sorrentino finds an image of a room with a mushroom-shaped lamp. He initiates Image Search again, but this time tells the system to investigate the lamp specifically. He does this by scribbling over the lamp with his finger. Note that he doesn't circle the lamp, because that would be a dead giveaway of Apple's intention here, but whatever. Once he circles to search scribbles on the lamp, he sees another list of images. Notice anything weird, though? None of the lamps on the visible list are the one from the original photo! Even the first result, the one he chooses, is very clearly not the lamp he was looking for, but Sorrentino moves forward with adding it to his Etsy favorites as if this were a big success. My guy, that is not the lamp. The system failed, and you're pretending it succeeded. You need to use your hands? That's like a baby's toy! In Sorrentino's final demo, he uses Visual Intelligence to deduce what a photo depicts and ask a question about it. In the example, the photo is of a small stringed instrument. He captures the screenshot and types out a question to ChatGPT. He finds out that the photo is of a mandolin and that this instrument has been used in many popular rock songs. The glaring thing here is that Sorrentino types out his question. That doesn't seem very convenient. With Circle to Search, I can just ask my question verbally. Even during the demo, it's awkward as we watch him thumb out the message about which rock songs use the instrument. Ultimately, that's what was so alarming about this whole segment. This is a pre-recorded Apple keynote demo, so you know it will work better here than in real life. But even the demo shows that it is woefully behind Circle to Search in both form and function. I shudder to think how well it will work when it actually lands. This whole demo was another example of Apple being woefully behind the curve when it comes to helpful implementations of AI tools. This is just another thing to throw on the pile when it comes to Apple dropping the AI ball. It was late to the game, and everything it's tried to do has either been a direct lift from Google, Android, or other Android OEMs, or relied on OpenAI to do the real work. Watching this Image Search demo was like watching an overconfident football player stumble through the big game and still try to act like they nailed it. If nothing else, though, the segment proved a hundred times over that Circle to Search is one of Google's biggest successes in years. How many times has Google made something that Apple then tried to riff on and failed this hard? Granted, I'll give Apple the benefit of the doubt for now. It's possible Image Search could be a lot better when it goes stable in September with the iPhone 17 series. But based on today's demo, its Circle to Search clone is a dud.
Business Insider
11-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
He co-created multiple Google products. These are his 5 tips for pitching ideas to management.
As VP of search experience at Google and the cofounder of some of its most popular products, Rajan Patel knows a thing or two about pitching ideas to the higher-ups. Patel was one of the creators of Google Lens, a tool launched in 2017 that's become a popular way for people to find answers to what they're looking at by snapping a photo of it. It now has 25 billion search queries every month and just underwent its latest update called "AI Mode" in Google Labs, allowing users to get AI responses with links to their photo searches. Patel also led the development of other major tools, including Google Podcasts and Google Flu Trends. Now, he leads the engineering teams in Google Search, including Discover, Image Search, Lens, and Autocomplete. But before those products could see the light of day, there was the task of pitching them. And while not everyone is pitching tech products, getting ideas in front of management is a task many of us have to do at some point in our careers, if not regularly. In an interview with Business Insider, Patel shared five things that employees should do when pitching management. 1. Understand the problems around you Patel said those who push the needle on what's possible within Google Search have a "deep connection to solving problems." In order to figure out what problems the people around us need solved, you need to be plugged in to what's going on around you, he said. "You have to be able to absorb information from all around, not just your company, but from what's going on in the industry," Patel told BI, adding that you need to "deeply understand" the types of problems your product area and team are trying to solve. Patel said it's important to always be learning, listening, and understanding. Those observations should then be incorporated into the ideas you develop. The ability to search using your natural voice while using your phone, for example, is a feature that lots of people would find helpful. 2. Know your manager's priorities Once you're tapped into what the people and industries around you care about, it's worth thinking about the problems that align with your manager, Patel said. When pitching an idea to them, Patel said you should make sure your idea addresses one of their priorities. "Understand what problems your manager is looking to solve. What matters most to them," Patel said. That means knowing whether your manager is focused on growth, cost reduction, innovation, or something else. Patel also suggested using the language that your manager uses when pitching the idea. 3. Do your research Patel said you want your idea to be an easy "yes." To do so, you'll want to show your manager that you've thought through the cost and practicalities of what it would take to move forward. That may include investing in resources, deprioritizing other projects, or something else. The bottom line is you want your manager to know you've thought through the idea, the Google VP said. "Convince them that tradeoffs are worthwhile," Patel said. You should also present your idea with data that backs up your idea, he added, such as from a "small test you ran." The data should be new information that your manager wasn't already aware of. 4. Get feedback from others Patel suggested getting feedback from people your manager trusts before presenting an idea. Patel said that a manager's first instinct may be to ask you to get feedback from others, so having that done already can help provide credibility. Patel added that one of the benefits of creating a product within the company you work at is being able to leverage the network around you, Patel said. "One of the cool things about getting to work at Google is there's so many brilliant people here doing incredible things," Patel said. "It turns out I have colleagues that have won Nobel Prizes." Taking any learnings that come from soundboarding your idea off your network and applying the feedback can make your pitch stronger. 5. Chase your passions Many entrepreneurs who are passionate about an idea go off to start their own business, but Patel said he was interested in developing products within Google. In his case, he said it made sense to stay within the tech giant to carry out his vision. Patel said he doesn't recommend the same path for everybody, but he does suggest working in an area that you feel passionate about. "You will do really great work if you do work in an area that you're super passionate about," Patel said, adding that "you're only going to put in the work if you're really dedicated to it and if you love it." Patel, who received a Ph.D in biostatistics and neuroimaging prior to working at Google, said that advice also applies to what you decide to study in college or grad school. He said if you work on something you're passionate about, you'll be "very likely to succeed."
